FIRST WAPITI DEER SHOT.

Shannon News, 4 May 1923, Page 4

FIRST WAPITI DEER SHOT.

WORLD’S FINEST HUNTING GROUND. ANIMALS THRIVING. INVERCARGILL, Last Night. The first Wapiti secured in the Southern Hemisphere were shot on the West Coast Sounds by Messrs V. Donald (Mastei’ton) and L. Murrel (Manapouri). The best of the three obtained was a fifteen pointer, the spread of the antlers being 53 J inches, the length 49 inches, beam 6J inches, and weight of the head 271bs. The hunters also saw a moose cow in the Supper Cove and in other places saw plenty of traces of these animals. Mr Gould estimates that there are now 118 moose and 2345 wapiti in the Fiord Country, the figures being based on the breeding habits of the animals. The original herd of 18 wapiti was presented by the late President Theodore Roosevelt, and liberated at George Sound in 1905. Reports byfishermen and others indicated that the animals were doing well, but Mr Donald’s is the first comprehensive report. Mr Donald considers the Fiord Country will be the finest hunting ground in the world, because of Ihe abundance of virgin feed that is necessary for deer and moose.